Greed
“… greed — for lack of a better word — is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms — greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed — you mark my words — will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA.
I loved this speech in Wall Street, and think Gordon Gekko did a nice job framing greed.
But, is greed still good?
I’m still with Gekko. I am greedy … for life, love, knowledge and – yep, I’ll say it … money.
Lately, it seems to be chic to be satisfied with less, and to vilify highly paid executives. Take for example the outrage over AIG executive bonuses. Even lacking an accurate understanding of their roles within the organization, tenure, tasks, risks, etc. people were outraged by these “exorbitant” bonuses. And the outcry they didn’t “deserve” to be paid that much money because “they caused the problem”. Did they? Why was that assumed? (NOTE: I’m NOT attempting to start a discussion on AIG or the bailout here, just serving an example. But, read this for some perspective.)
Fueled by social media?
I do like the “village” mentality our economic woes seem to be creating. I believe that mentality, coupled with the giving premise behind social media, has raised our altruistic consciousness. As a result greed and undeserved excess seem to now be positioned as bad things.
Will work for money
Like real estate professionals, I’m a service provider. As service providers, we must provide great service with fantastic results to remain in business. To do that and for career longevity, we must keep the client’s highest and best interests at heart during the engagement/transaction. Therefore, our intent is, at the core, good. Like you, I work hard and am accomplished at what I do. For this, I want to earn money – as much as I can.
Tell me, quickly!
Does that make me a pariah? If one is transparent that they are working to make a living/better life/achieve financial goals, is that considered unacceptable, particularly if one is active in social media? Does one cancel out the other – like drinking a diet Coke and eating a candy bar (ok, not a good analogy).
I consider my philanthropic activities somewhat personal, based on my desire to leave a particular footprint.
Does social media require we describe ourselves leading with our philanthropy?
